A cello rock group. Very interesting and very original. I'd recommend looking them up.

"Private human life is anything but dull. On the contrary, it is far too interesting. The troublesome thing about it is that it has no real conventions, makes no inner sense. Anything can happen. It is mysterious, unpredictable, unrehearsable. Professional life is not mysterious at all. The whole music world understands music. Any musician can give to another comprehensible rendition of practically any piece. If there is anything either of them don't understand, there are always plenty of people they can consult about it.
Private life, on the other hand, is beset by a thousand insoluble crises, from unrequited love to colds in the head. Nobody, literally nobody, knows how to avoid any of them. Religion itself can only counsel patience and long-suffering. It is like a nightmare of being forced to execute at sight a score much too difficult for one's training on an instrument nobody know's how to tune and before a public that isn't listening anyway." -Virgil Thomson

This is a slendid album. It is the MJQ's farewell concert in Avery Hall, New York in 1974. They had toured and performed together for 22 years and had decided to disband.

The MJQ play to a hugely appreciative audience. There are minor low points when, for example, at the start of "Bags' Groove", some members of the audience indulge in moronic hand clapping along to the music, the MJQ pick up the tempo and leave them in their wake, it's really well worth having.

Seán

"To appreciate the greatness of the Masters is to keep faith in the greatness of humanity." - Wilhelm Furtwängler

This is a slendid album. It is the MJQ's farewell concert in Avery Hall, New York in 1974. They had toured and performed together for 22 years and had decided to disband.

The MJQ play to a hugely appreciative audience. There are minor low points when, for example, at the start of "Bags' Groove", some members of the audience indulge in moronic hand clapping along to the music, the MJQ pick up the tempo and leave them in their wake, it's really well worth having.

Superb! I made acquaintance with the MJQ with that album - yup, LP 'n all. It persuaded me to go for an early one, Concorde, putting forth some beautifully laid-back Gershwin. I later bought it on CD.

It's one of those albums that comes out a lot on summer afternoons/evenings.

King Crimson: Lizard. Always my favourite Crimson album, but recently I've been listening to it a lot. There's a stunning new production job on the 40th anniversary edition too.
The long title track is about Frederick II, Holy Roman Emperor, and has the most remarkable lyrics.

Given my love of a big choral sound I've recently become a fan of "Mythodea" by Vangelis, with a complete performance available on You Tube....something to listen to while doing research of otherwise engaged on the Web.